Day 343: The Heathen Section

Saturday: January 31, 2015

...also known as the Non-Muslim section at Spinneys [no one actually calls it "The Heathen Section," by the way.] This is the place where all non-halal food can be found. The obvious are available: hot dogs, pepperoni, ham slices, and so on. The less obvious are also there too: baked beans with sausage, certain soups, chili, and so on. Then there are the surprising ones that kind of made me re-evaluate my life: Pop-Tarts and marshmallows.

Day 342: Glowing Canine

Friday: January 30, 2015

I stayed in with the puppy today, and we have our nice moments. Sometimes, when he's super tired, he'll join me on the couch and actually chill out instead of jumping everywhere. I've also liked using PhotoShop Express on my iPhone to edit photos. That's why By-Tor looks so ethereal.

Day 341: Desert Chill

Thursday: January 29, 2015

Ice cream trucks are great inventions. I think they're particularly great for Dubai, as it's so hot here year round. This winter in particular, there have probably been a handful of days where ice cream trucks were not inappropriate, mostly due to rain. I've always heard this truck around my neighborhood, but I finally spotted it! Sadly, I was on a run and had no cash with me otherwise I totally would have stopped it, because I'm actually only five years old.

Day 340: Grooming, Finally

Wednesday: January 28, 2015

I've lovingly mentioned many times in the past that the family dog usually smells pretty putrid. He rolls around in the grass, and traps the smell of doggy sweat and dirt into his fur. He also won't stay still for very long, so it's hard to brush him like we're supposed to. Overall, he's pretty rank sometimes. But Shampooch saved the day! They had to cut off a lot of his hair, so it's shorter now. Plus, he smells like bananas!

Day 339: Tape Up, Don't Tap Out

Tuesday: January 27, 2015

As usual, my titles really don't make sense anymore. I don't do martial arts. The term "tap out" does not apply to me. However, my mom did want extra practice taping up ankles, since she's going to tape up some of the boys before practice and games. That is, my little brother's football buddies. So I volunteered my own ankles, and I went on a run with it all taped up. Oh my gosh, it hurt. I'm naturally really, really flat footed and so forcing my legs to run with that much support actually tired out my calf muscles pretty quickly. I don't think I'll be taping up my ankles again like this, because it hurt and also looked pretty orthopedic.

Day 338: Red Lips, Great Tips

Monday: January 26, 2015

Today I took pictures for a pic-torial on my blog [you can see it here.] These things are always a lot of fun, and I don't know if that makes me sound narcissitic by admitting that I enjoy taking pictures of myself.

Day 337: Tell Her That I Miss Our Little /Walks/

Sunday: January 25, 2015

Today the poops and I went on a walk [I used to call him puppy, then when it took forever to potty train him, I called him poopy, and I got even lazier and just shortened it to "poops."] He's like, not that cooperative. He likes to try and walk me into dirty and/or dangerous places, like busy intersections. I tried to get him to walk to this grassy area because I've seen it while running and I thought he'd like it. By-Tor did like it, eventually. I had to pick his sorry little butt up and tote him to the grassy knoll because I was tired of dragging him.

Day 336: Window to the Soul... Or Something

Saturday: January 24, 2015

Today I've finally got my courses up and running. There was a little trouble in getting my second semester started, just because of the wonky AP course timing. But it seems that everything is going smoothly. I get to read Jane Eyre for AP Lit & Comp, which I love. So I'm excited. I saw the bathroom window in a new light, so to speak. I could've used more light two days ago when I accidentally sprayed Lysol in my hair instead of hairspray, but I digress. 

Day 335: Race Day!

Friday: January 23, 2015

Today was a really significant day. I ran the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 10k for the second time, I completed my fourth 10k race, my sixth or seventh race with my mom, my second race with my little brother, and my first race with my entire family - whew! My official time was 1:00:26, even though I know I was a good minute or two faster than that. ;) I placed 3733 out of the total 12,294 finishing runners, 698 out of the women, and 7th in my age and gender category! I also ran/walked the 4k fun run with my brother and dad, while we waited for my mom to finish her [third] marathon. Overall, it was a very active day and when we got home, I promptly slept for four hours.

Also, there were lots of photographers with Standard Chartered, so within a week I should be able to look up my number and see the hilarious photos of myself taken throughout the race.

Day 334: Signature Scent

Thursday: January 22, 2015

This set of Jo Malone perfumes was one of my favorite Christmas gifts. I had originally asked for a specific perfume, but this set is way better because I get to mix and match. Their scents are designed to be layered, so I can wear "Blackberry & Bay" on its own, or with "Lime, Basil & Mandarin." It's what I wore today, to my first time back to youth group since, well, October. It was nice.

Day 333: Hola, Soy Candle

Wednesday: January 21, 2015

I got my mom a candle for her stocking this Christmas, and I kind of smell it every chance I get. I forgot to check the dimensions on most items, so a lot of the packages that came in were hilariously mis-sized. For example, I thought this candle was a small, hand held one. I mean, I read it's weight before ordering but that obviously didn't do much for me. Either way, it smells heavenly and I love having it around even though it was my mom's gift!

Day 332: Drinking Goblets

Tuesday: January 20, 2015

I've been having a lot of fun with my new Canon point-and-shoot, the SX520HS. It was a Christmas gift, and has been much appreciated. It takes excellent macro photos, like the close up of this really cool glass.

In other news, I also had my Dartmouth Skype interview today! It went really well, and there were no lulls in the conversation on my end. It was very positive, and I feel a lot better about the admissions process. I also got my second acceptance today, so all-in-all, I'm feeling good. Yay.

Day 331: Rain Rain, You Can Stay But Be Careful

Monday: January 19, 2015

It rained today, for 8 hours. And in those 8 hours, an estimated 700 car accidents occurred. For one, we don't have storm drains. And for two, some people think that since the legislative laws don't apply to them, the laws of physics don't either. But nature is fair that way. It doesn't matter who you or your father is, if you're going 160 km on wet roads and make a sharp turn, you will hydroplane. That said, it's always a little sad when it rains here, even though it shouldn't be. If anything, the skies clear up beautifully, as shown here.

Day 330: Family Portraits, Finally

Sunday: January 18, 2015

For photography, I had to take wedding pictures. Who better to employ as my minions [kidding] than my family? Once everybody was on board, it was a lot of fun. It made me happy, because my parents never really had the opportunity to take wedding photos, so this was their low-budget chance, nearly nineteen years later. And with a puppy now, too!!

Day 329: Touchdown!!

Saturday: January 17, 2015

Today I spent over 12 hours at the football fields. There's a reason I can't go to games during the rest of my semester. But, this was my brother's first game of the spring season! Their team is now 6 and 0! It was a great game, and the Men's division also won. Exciting, exciting.

Day 328: Honey, I Shrunk the Dog

Friday: January 16, 2015

We found this giant tennis ball in our yard, and the dog looks hilarious next to it. He was approaching it pretty cautiously, because he's not used to tennis balls of this size. I'm genuinely thinking of quitting all types of photography other than the kind where I get to exclusively take snapshots of my puppy. He's that great.

Day 327: Brotherly Birthdays

Thursday: January 15, 2015

Today was my little brother's birthday. We went to eat at Wagamama and then he had an extra football practice. The weather was nice [pictured here], and then we went out to eat with a few family friends at Claw. It's this amazing barbecue place, and I witnessed a nearly-teenage boy [not my brother, haha] finish off an entire rack of ribs as well as apple pie. I also got him the right video game! Score one for big sister.

Day 326: Birthday Shopping

Wednesday: January 14, 2015

Today I had to go shopping for my little brother's birthday. He's turning 12! We have a lot of January birthdays in the family, so it's customary to go from one birthday to the next in terms of shopping. While at the mall, I stopped with my mom for a lovely meal and they had a watermelon cooler and it was delicious. I like how they didn't strain it, made me feel better about drinking the juice with all the fiber still in it. 

Day 325: Cloudy Skies

Tuesday: January 13, 2015


I took this photo while [can you guess it?] out on a run. I finished my last major final yesterday and I feel great! I still have two more to finish, but they're in classes I feel really solid in and they're due in the next week or two so I have a bit of breathing room for now. Today's forecast: partly cloudy // high: 79F // low: 63F // feels like: 75F // humidity: 47%

Day 324: Nude Nails

Monday: January 12, 2015

I received an advent calendar for, well, Advent and it was full of fun Ciaté nail polishes. They're my favorite brand, and I love the formula of their polishes. They're typically very thin but pigmented, so they dry quickly. Out of all the cool colors I received, my favorite has been this natural, beige color called Beach Bum. It's what I'm wearing on my nails today!

Day 323: Barbecue!

Sunday: January 11, 2015

Today we had over people for a barbecue. We had football friends, coaches, former players, and a surprise guest, kind of. It was a really eventful evening full of laughs, broken glass, and excitement. By-Tor was doing really well with all the new people, but he eventually got tired of them and settled on my lap. He likes to be "snug" in places, so he stuck his head under my arm like this. 

Day 322: Carrot Nibbler

Saturday: January 10, 2015

Here it is, photographic proof that my puppy eats baby carrots. Apparently it's not a normal snack for doggies, but the internet told me it was safe. He likes the crunch, I think. By-Tor isn't too fond of sweet things like fruit, or anything too slimy like cucumber. He's caught on though, and will leave carrots alone if he thinks I'm also not eating them. He's a dork.

Day 321: New Perspectives

Friday: January 9, 2015

I didn't do much today, since I have more finals to study for over the weekend. Honestly though, finals week is usually the least stressful time of the year for me. I like having all of my work finished in all of my courses, and studying isn't bad at all. I was a good noodle and I did a bit of prep work over the winter break, too!

Day 320: Voyages

Thursday: January 8, 2015

One of my gifts for my birthday was a beautiful planner. It's incredible pretty, and will help me plan out my future adventures, whatever those may be!

Day 319: BIRTHDAY

Wednesday: January 7, 2015

Today is my 18th birthday. Yikes. I'll be honest, I really wasn't ready for it. It kind of snuck up on me. There was no anticipation this year, at least on my end. It's okay though, I had a great day with my family. We went out to Shakespeare & Co for lunch, and then to a sushi place called Sushi for dinner. It was nice. And I have finals tomorrow, so I should get back to studying. 

Day 318: Birthday Butterflies

Tuesday: January 6, 2015

Tomorrow is my birthday, and while on a run I saw a lot of these little butterflies flitting about. I liked the idea of "birthday butterflies" in a literal and metaphorical sense. They're nice, and I've always loved butterflies.

Day 317: Flashy!

Monday: January 5, 2015

In my stocking, I got a set of flash tattoos. They're basically like temporary tattoos for an older crowd. So, instead of Hello Kitty designs they feature gold and silver jewelry inspired designs. I used a single strand to create the bracelet and ring, and it's turned out really nicely!

Day 316: Beef Something-or-Other

Sunday: January 4, 2015

So, my winter break is just about up. Don't get me wrong, I love school and all, but I would've liked a longer break. On the bright side, I had a great beef stew at Le Pain Quotidien, and it was a religious experience.

Day 315: Rocky

Saturday January 3, 2015

I found this cool rock - no, no, mineral - while I was out running. Isn't it neat? I think it's a quartz or something. How exciting!

Day 314: I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Friday: January 2, 2015

Today we had a brunch that turned into dinner, that turned into midnight snacking with our friends. It was really nice, especially because it's the same family who had us over for NYE [oops]. The adults rocked out to classic rock music, compared ages, and snacked on the mini potluck we created. Later, we also had a karaoke contest. I came in second, haha! It was great.

Also, holla at pi day!

Day 313: The Aftermath

Thursday: January 1, 2015

It's 2015. It feels so weird to say. I graduate this year! I'm showing you photos of the fireworks because they're lovely, and also I'm not doing anything exciting today anyway. Some of us are really feeling the aftermath of last night [not me, ha!]